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Illawarra

A group for photographers and artists who live in the Illawarra. Photos must be taken within the Illawarra region and represent the region.

Featured Work

little iris by Steven Guy

Tiny little and lovely. Sometimes the best views are the little ones. A fringe lily. / Genus is Thysanotus Abrahams Bosom Resreve / Currarong / NSW
Fishing at Sunrise by Steve Sass

One of the wonderful NSW South Coast Sunrises; this one at the northern end of Racecourse Beach, near Ulladulla, NSW. Despite the huges waves, I was amazed at the lone fisherman on the rock shelf in the mid-ground of the image (seen easily when viewed large). One might call them ‘dedicated’. I could also think of other words…...........
Golden Sunset by itsallgoodamanda

Taken on the left side of the walking/bike track on the banks of Sanctuary Point /
Windang Bridge - Night Lights by Stephen Jarrett

Windang Bridge shot at night as a long exposure and under a full moon, there is plenty of activity with a lot of traffic passing over it and fisherman aplenty! Gear used: Pentax K20D, Sigma 18 – 50mm, Micnova timer remote, Velbon Sherpa 250N
Afternoon Delight by itsallgoodamanda

Taken on the banks of Sanctuary Point,,just before sunset, overlooking the “basin” /
Sunrays... by e0nn

Sunrise at Kiama’s famous Blowhole Point..
the dawn... by Anthony Langlois

Karina my muse….
The Long Walk Home. by Les Boucher

Photograph taken at “The hole in the wall” (Booderee National Park) Jervis Bay New South Wales. Shutter : 1/500 / Aperture : F8.0 / ISO : 100 Featured in Illawarra Group.
Serene by Tina Gray

Early morning on Lake Illawarra
Golden Shore by Kieran O'Connor

VIEW IT LARGE ON BLACK Sunrise on Thirroul beach. Nikon D80

Recent Work

The Day I Met Bryce Courtenay by Vanessa Pike-Russell

I’m normally far more comfortable behind the lens but when there is the chance to have your photo taken with your favourite living author, the man who helped fill you with determination and optimism when you most needed it, you can’t say no because of vanity! I’d had two hours sleep thanks to a large bat that has taken up residence in a tree outside my bedroom window calling out to his friends all night. Then when he moves on, the native pigeon starts up, followed by the lorikeets and neighbourhood dogs. After lots of tossing and turning in anticipation of the coming day’s events I decided to catch the early bus into Wollongong and catch the train into Sydney and then Edgecliff to make my way to the Bellevue Hotel in Paddington to meet Bryce Courtenay and the other winners of a Facebook Fan Club competition for lunch. I have to admit that I had hoped to sleep on the two hour train journey but that soon changed when I spotted the man who once taught me at Primbee Primary School when I was 12. He was travelling up to Sydney with his Year 5/6 class and between my excitement at seeing the man who inspired me to become a teacher, plus the rowdy and energetic nature of his class, I decided that sleep was for the weak and I opened up the Bryce Courtenay book Fishing for Stars. I was really enjoying the book and once more the sights and sounds of the world around me faded away as I became enthralled in a book about a man with two lovers, women who were diametrically opposed from each other. One a rich woman who invested in oil shares and the other who was passionately protective of the environment and spent most of her life and energies in raising awareness, funds and a spotlight on the endangered animals and environmental issues including the plight of the Corroboree frog. The theme of the decline of the Corroboree frog features several times throughout the book. A warning system that is similar to that of the canaries which were sent down shafts of mines to check for air quality. This isn’t the first time that Bryce has encouraged a push towards conservation of this endangered amphibian. It was one of the first animals included within the Cadbury Yowie chocolate product along with a fact sheet about its habitat, status and featured in one of the six books Bryce and his friend Geoff Pike wrote for children. Fishing For Stars has one simple dedication – ‘to the Corroboree Frog’. I can’t tell you how much I respect this wise and wonderful man for writing a novel with themes such as conservation, politics, greed, raising awareness, environmental factors and outlines without lecturing what we can do to make a difference. I was one of the many teachers in Australia who downloaded the teaching materials from the Cadbury website and used the collectible figures found randomly inside the Cadbury Yowie products and taught children aged 5 to 12 about our Australian animals and most importantly about the many animals which are now extinct or endangered and a list of animals which are heading towards that path. When I heard that the train would be arriving at Central Station, Sydney I begrudgingly closed the book and took a deep breath, closed my eyes and said a little prayer for the Corroboree Frog and made a mental note to thank Bryce for writing Fishing for Stars and continuing his efforts to raising awareness ten years after the Yowie books were published. It made me smile and strangely caused me to feel even more close to this man who I had grown up reading the books filled with stories from his childhood or people he knew such as The Power of One and The Potato Factory. As the train slowly pulled into the station I made my way to the doors and prepared myself for a dash from Platform 1 to Platform 24 to make my connecting train to Edgecliff. It was my first time to visit Edgecliff and nearby Paddington and I was glad I had an hour up my sleeve so that I didn’t have to panic and could enjoy the adventure. After a frantic walk along the corridor and up the stairs I made it to the platform only to find that the train was running late. Phew! The heat of the day coupled with my physical activity caused a sweat to form on my brow. Thankfully I had learned from my experiences at the Windang Family Fun Day for Camp Quality Convoy on the Sunday and a visit to a fellow photographer friend on Monday and came prepared with a white facecloth. It’s amazing what a difference the little square of cloth can make. I took the opportunity to take the water (with a twist of lemon) out of my bag and rehydrated before the train arrived. I took a seat near the door and settled down, my mind filled with thoughts of the events of the next hour until I realised that I had ‘zoned out’ and snapped myself back to focus on my journey, remembering that Edgecliff was only a few stops from Central and I’d hate to fly past my station in reverie. Just to make sure, I asked some people nearby and they confirmed that there was three stops to Edgecliff. Despite my lack of sleep I was strangely alert from then on, ready to pounce when Edgecliff came into view, alighting the train with my camera bag and custom-made tote made of purple fabric with a butterfly detail. Today was the special occasion I had wanted to christen the bag recently purchased from a friend, featuring applique and embroidery, all hand-sewn. Fragile and beautiful and perfect for meeting Bryce Courtenay, just enough room for two of his books, a pocket brush with mirror, keys and wallet. As I made my way out of Edgecliff station I tried to orientate myself and find Ocean Road, based on the map that I had printed out from the Transport Infoline when visiting Wouter the day before. What they didn’t note on the map is how hilly Ocean Road, Jersey Road and Hargrave St were. The heat once more had me ‘glistening’ and I decided to slow down, take a deep breath and enjoy the walk with camera in hand. It’s amazing how quickly I ignored the irritants of weather, incline and the fact I was melting when I took the time to capture some images of the architectural details of historic Edgecliff and Paddington. I loved the masonry work and quaint old hotels such as the Lord Dudley and old sandstone buildings from the late 1800s. When I finally arrived at my destination, The Bellevue Hotel, I was surprised to find that the hotel was closed at 11am. I had wanted to cool down and freshen up inside but decided to make the most of my time and explore some of the local stores and art galleries. I bought the paper from a tiny newsagent across the road, scoured the walls of the art gallery which was holding an Australian Painters exhibition, and chatted to some locals about interesting landmarks to photograph located nearby. At 11.30am I saw someone unlock the front door and I decided it was probably a good idea to go inside and freshen up. Again I was thankful for my facewasher, using it to cool myself down on a 30 degree day and feeling more human as I rangle my hair as best I can. I feel the butterflies start to creep and yet a strange floating feeling as if it is all a dream. Can I really be meeting Bryce Courtenay? It’s just too good to be true! Thankfully when I make my way back into the sitting room a few fans start to arrive. We are told that Bryce is on his way, spending a moment to finish up some work at the offices of Penguin Publishing nearby and we start to introduce ourselves. I decide to take a quick photo of the interior of the hotel whilst chatting, the photojournalist within urging me to document the day before I become overwhelmed in the moment. Before too long we are invited into the upstairs private dining room and Bryce arrives, greeting each one of his fans who have won the privilege of spending a couple of hours enjoying lunch and getting to meet this wonderful warm and wise man. / It was Bryce himself who judged the winners, with eight people from Sydney chosen from the many who entered. There will be other fan lunches across the country but we were the lucky first to be welcomed with a warm hug and treated as if we were a long lost family member and allowed to see the world behind the books that we love so much, and interact with someone who has grown to know a little about each person through their entries. When I entered the room I placed my camera bag and butterfly tote in the bottom left hand corner of the room and then made my way around, introducing myself to everyone. When we came to sit down I went over to get my bag and just happened to sit next to Bryce who continued to squeeze my arm throughout the day whenever he was excited about our discussions, which thrilled me to no end. He was generous in giving of himself and delved into details which obviously pained him, so honestly that everyone in the room were moved to tears or hearty belly laughs, depending on the experience. My heart when out to him as it had when I was a teenager reading ‘The Power of One’ when he talked about his childhood. I had related so much to his story and I doubt he will ever know how much his optimism, determinism and outlook on life shaped my life. There is a theme to his books – overcoming adversity. He told us that he loves women, loves writing about them. Especially strong women. One of his stories was about The Family Frying Pan. I was fighting back tears as he went into details on how he met her, learned about her ‘magical’ frying pan but didn’t understand the extent of her attachment to it until after she died. Definitely a book I will get out of the library at my earliest convenience. I felt so guilty for having such a gap in my reading of books since I discovered the internet and became so addicted to reading online that dragging me offline to read has become somewhat difficult. I read when on holidays or when there is a thunderstorm or on the bus, but NOW I am enjoying reading a chapter a night of Bryce’s latest book. The signature in the front of the book ‘For Vanessa and Mary’ reminds me that once I read it, and Philip reads it, I will send The Story of Danny Dunn down to Mary as a thank you for sending The Persimmon Tree to my husband for his birthday and Fishing for Stars so that he can read the sequel. Bryce was touched when I read out the note still tucked in the Fishing for Stars book as a bookmark which read: “Dear Phil / Here’s the book I promised you. A bigger read than the last but just as good! I love this guy’s books – hope you enjoy! / Love Mary” So of the three books signed,the latest was signed ‘For Vanessa and Mary’, the ‘Fishing for Stars’ which is owned by Mary, ‘To Mary’ and / and since the Persimmon Tree was Philip’s birthday present I requested ‘For Philip’, which touched Philip to no end. Unfortunately the invitation to lunch was for one person. I would have loved to include Phil but as it turned out I was very grateful that he stayed home and took delivery of my new mobile interent modem for the laptop. When I came home I was online within 30 minutes and SO relieved. After lunch we took turns stating which book/s were our favourite and Bryce gave some information about each and allowed us to ask him questions. He was so gracious and humble and easy to talk to. Like a long lost relative that you met at a family function. All fears about being tonguetied in front of Australia’s best-selling author flew out the window. Instead we just made the most of every moment with him and afterwards had a smile on our faces and exhilaration that lasted for days. When you hear his life story, living in an orphange full of people that hated you because of the colour of your skin and the nationality of your family, beaten on a daily basis, sent to boarding school during the school year and living on the street in the holidays – you marvel that he could be the warm, generous and well-adjusted man that he is. From a young age he learned the key to his freedom was through education and telling stories to the bullies so that they wouldn’t bash him. A quick-witted young man he soon had them captivated, and has been doing so with the Australian public ever since. One of the things that stuck with me was that he felt fortunate that he didn’t have parents to tell him what to do or who he was. It allowed him to invent himself and not be restricted into a family business or based on the prejudice of a parental figure. He was free to learn from the many people who lived on the street and earned a scholarship and fought his way up to a job at McCan-Erickson International advertising agency, where he met my Grand-father’s brother, Geoff Pike. That was how I first learned about Bryce. My Grandmother told me the story of how Geoff had drawn the cartoon and animation and Bryce wrote the jingle. Most Australians know of Bryce’s involvement with the famous advertisement for Mortein fly spray but most have never heard of Geoff Pike, despite the fact he was a famous artist and animator who has worked on some of the most famous cartoons and commercials on Australian TV. Despite vowing that I wouldn’t mention my Great Uncle lest I hijack the conversation, I couldn’t help but mention the Corroboree frog in Fishing For Stars and Bryce’s involvement in the Yowie Power books and lesson plans surrounding the Cadbury Yowie phenomenon. Not many people know that it was Geoff’s project for many years before he turned to his friend Bryce and asked for his assistance in getting it off the ground. Together they created an education kit which was sent out to all Australian schools When I spoke softly to Bryce ‘I’ve been told that you know my Great-Uncle’ he looked enquiringly at me and asked ‘oh? who is that?’. Geoff Pike. Within moments he reacted and said ‘Yes! I do know him. Very well! I spent some time with him just the other day’ :) After we had our photos taken together he smiled wide and said that he would tell Geoff that he had met me and show him the photo. I was ten years of age the last time I met Geoff and his children. I have always wanted to meet him again but he is a very private man which is understandable. When you’re rich or famous people want things from you. You would never know if they want to get to know you or just use you. I wish I could tell him that his success allowed me to believe that I could achieve. He had a hard childhood and through meditation, tai chi and hard work has created a life for himself despite his background. It was wonderful to have a painting Geoff created for his Mother’s birthday on my bedroom wall from the age of 11 when my Grandmother allowed me to choose my favourite painting after they were left with her after my Grandfather moved on to greener pastures. I often wonder if he would be delighted to see it and own it once more. It is a lovely tropical paradise scene that allowed my imagination to transport me to its sandy shore with flamingos and palm trees swaying in the breeze. He painted it at the age of 16, a testament to his natural talent and love of the tropics. I have treasured it, re-framing it when it had seen better days and it now hangs in the middle room with matching purple walls, cheery and positive and full of life. Thank you Geoff and Bryce for the gifts of your words and art. They meant so much to me as a child and teen and now as an adult you continue to mentor and teach from afar. Thank you!
Magical Day at Culburra by snefne

A wonderful sunny day in October, taken at Culburra, NSW south coast. / Canon Powershot S51S
Prime Of The Morning by Kieran O'Connor

View large on black Thirroul Beach, NSW, Australia Nikon D80
Water's edge by Karen Rich

Colours and patterns left by a receding wave.
Sunset Loner by itsallgoodamanda

A lone straggly tree on the edge of the bank at Sanctuary Point at sunset
Fishing at Sunrise by Steve Sass

One of the wonderful NSW South Coast Sunrises; this one at the northern end of Racecourse Beach, near Ulladulla, NSW. Despite the huges waves, I was amazed at the lone fisherman on the rock shelf in the mid-ground of the image (seen easily when viewed large). One might call them ‘dedicated’. I could also think of other words…...........
little iris by Steven Guy

Tiny little and lovely. Sometimes the best views are the little ones. A fringe lily. / Genus is Thysanotus Abrahams Bosom Resreve / Currarong / NSW
the cliffs by Steven Guy

The view from the cliffs on Coomies walk, looking south. Abrahams Bosom Reserve / Currarong / NSW As is
big lighthouse up in the sky by Juilee Pryor

armed with my one of my lovely little Holga plastic fantastic cameras I got right up close and fairly personal with one of my local lighthouses….. on lighthouse day…..... on the headland of Wollongong Harbour…. it’s one of our local iconic landmarks….
Thirsting by Kieran O'Connor

View it large on black f/11 / Nikon d80
True Love by Tahnja

Acrylic on standard A4 watercolour paper. A portrait of me and my true love. Detail /

Featured Members

About This Group

A group for photographers and artists who live in the Illawarra.

Locations of photos must be within the illawarra or very close to it.
Please do not post photos from other states or countries. Please focus on the people, places and events of our region.

The Illawarra is a region in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is a coastal region situated immediately south of Sydney and bounded Shoalhaven region in the south, and encompasses the cities of Wollongong and Shellharbour and the municipality of Kiama. The central region containing Lake Illawarra.

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Only submit images that you would print or display – the best of your collection.

If you see a photo in the pool and would like to comment on it please mention the title of this group so that the photographer can know how you found them.

Local meets can be organised via the forum and feel free to announce any exhibitions or gatherings you are a part of.

Congratulations to Rosina Lamberti on winning our first challenge – Spring fling!